Jackson Heights

Jackson Heights is a neighborhood of northwestern Queens, New York City. The neighborhood is named for Jackson Avenue (now the Northern Boulevard), which was built in 1859 by John C. Jackson. Starting in 1916, Jackson Heights was developed as a planned community, and several people moved into the affordable apartments during the Great Depression. The neighborhood was segregated during the early 1900s, and Catholics, Jews, and African-Americans were kept out of the area until the 1940s-1960s; by 1968, African-Americans represented a growing community of non-whites in the area. In 2010, Jackson Heights had a population of 108,152 people, with 17.2% being white, 2% African-American, .1% Native American, 22% Asian, .5% other (including just 9 Pacific islanders), and 1.6% multiracial; 56.5% of the population identified as Hispanic. Today, the neighborhood is mostly Hispanic and Asian, especially Colombian and Indian, respectively.